Nan A. Talese, president, publisher & editorial director of her own imprint at Doubleday, announced she will retire at the end of the year after six decades in publishing. She joined Random House in 1959 as a copyeditor and went on to work at Simon & Schuster and Houghton Mifflin, founding the Nan A. Talese imprint in 1990. The release notes, “Nan’s grace, brilliance, and steel will (she has been given the nickname ‘the Velvet Hammer’) have endeared her to her writers, her coworkers, and the bookselling industry at large. The impact Nan has had on the literary landscape is immeasurable, and we are proud to have Penguin Random House bookend her legendary career.”
Author Ian McEwan says, “Nan’s retirement in December this year will define one of the greatest publishing careers in the English-speaking world.” Margaret Atwood says, “No editor has seen so many changes and done so much in publishing as the legendary and much beloved Nan Talese, known fondly to some as ‘the Nanster’…. I can’t imagine her actually ‘retiring.’ It’s a figure of speech. She will continue reading, and reading my work, I hope, and offering commentary: ‘None of these people are very nice.'”
Laura Cameron has joined Transatlantic Agency as associate agent, building a client list of adult and children’s/YA authors. She was previously at Penguin Random House Canada.
Stephanie Williams will take over as director at Wayne State University Press next month, replacing interim director Kathryn Wildfong. Williams was previously director at Ohio University Press.
Georgetown University Press is launching a new publishing program in global business and the global economy led by senior acquisitions editor Hilary Claggett. The program will release 20 titles a year starting in 2021, and “offer readers a global perspective on the role of the private sector in some of the most pressing issues and trends of our time.”
Forthcoming
Ernest Cline’s follow-up READY PLAYER TWO will be published by Ballantine on November 24. International publication dates “will be announced in the coming months.”
Pete Buttigieg’s book TRUST, about the “urgent and soul-searching ways why trust is a foundational value for democracy,” will be published by Liveright on October 6.
Imprints
Comedian Phoebe Robinson is launching an imprint with Plume called Tiny Reparations Books, “dedicated to publishing both literary fiction and nonfiction as well as essay collections that highlight and amplify unique and diverse voices.” Publisher of Dutton and Plume Christine Ball will also serve as publisher of the new imprint, while Robinson will be founder. Sam Srinivasan at Sechel PR, Robinson’s longtime publicist, will provide publicity. Robinson said in the release, “We all know there is a lack of diversity in publishing. Tiny Reparations Books recognizes that the publishing landscape isn’t going to change until the actual work starts behind the scenes.”
Announcements
The MacDowell Colony has changed their name to just MacDowell, following a staff petition in response to feedback from fellows and the artist community, unanimously agreeing to to “remove terminology with oppressive overtones.”
This Sunday’s New York Times Magazine will be dedicated entirely to new fiction writing, featuring 29 short stories “inspired by the moment” of the pandemic, from authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danitcat, David Mitchell and more.